Tag: Assad, Bashar al-

Russia’s Battle With Extremists Has Simmered for Years

In the past few months, deep in the forbidding deserts of central Syria, Russian forces have quietly joined the Syrian military in intensifying attacks against Islamic State strongholds, including bombing what local news reports called the dens and caves where the extremist fighters hide. While the world was focused on the conflicts in Ukraine and […]

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Iran’s Proxy Forces Across the Middle East

For decades, the Shiite Muslim ayatollahs who came to power in Iran through the 1979 Islamic Revolution have worked to build an arc of like-minded proxy forces across the Middle East. Training and arming extremist, nonstate militia groups throughout the region have been pillars of Iran’s foreign and security policy. What the Islamic Republic calls […]

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Syria Drone Attack Kills at Least 80, Government Says

At least 80 people were killed in central Syria on Thursday by drones carrying explosive ammunition targeting the graduation ceremony for cadets of a military academy, according to Syrian state media. The attack occurred minutes after the ceremony, held in Homs Province, was ending and as people were gathering for photos, according to the Syrian […]

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Syria’s Leader, al-Assad, Visits China in Search of Friends and Funds

The News President Bashar al-Assad of Syria arrived in China on Thursday as he sought financial support to rebuild his country and to improve his international standing after being ostracized over atrocities committed during Syria’s ongoing civil war. His visit takes place as China seeks to present itself as a powerful influence in the Middle […]

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